"I bugged Coach all year last year, 'Coach, can you get me a uniform?'" said Cabell, a junior. "Now that I'm wearing one every day, it just puts a smile on my face."

Cabell is a backup left fielder for Winter Park's varsity team, which completed play Tuesday in the Big Sun Challenge tournament at Ocala Vanguard. It's a rare leap for someone who was willing to do anything after being cut from junior varsity last year.

"I don't think anybody's ever been cut from JV in 10th grade and made varsity in the 11th," said Bob King, who has coached the Wildcats the past 31 years. "That's really unusual."

Lake Mary coach Allen Tuttle, also a 31-year veteran, has recalled it happening, though rarely.

"Sometimes you reward a kid for staying with it," Tuttle said.

An avid Boston Red Sox fan, Cabell began playing in the Maitland Little League when he was 10 years old, but he wasn't confident his skills could land him a spot on the high-school team. He was small and lacked power.

"He'll probably say he's 129 pounds, but he's really about 125," King said of the 17-year-old.

Said the 5-foot-7 Cabell: "I'm 129."

After taking King's team-sports class last year, Cabell tried out for the Wildcats but was one of about 40 players cut.

"It hurt, but it gave me a mentality, 'You have to work harder,''' Cabell said. "I have so much passion for the game of baseball, and I didn't want to give it up just because I got cut."

So he emailed Winter Park junior-varsity coach Joe DiFrancesco and offered his help. Cabell took care of the field, hauled equipment, kept stats and did anything else the coaches asked.

"He still wanted to be a part of what we were doing. That's very unlike a lot of kids," DiFrancesco said. "Usually, they don't want to be a part of anything if they get cut. They see you in the hallway and look the other way."

Said senior pitcher Michael Bulmer: "At first, we were like, 'What is he doing? Who is this kid and why do we have him?' But as the season went on, he was helping out and making us look good. We made it clear, 'You're one of us.'"

Toward the end of the season, Cabell even got to dress like one of them, in a uniform, during a fundraiser event. He was ecstatic, even if he had to give it back afterward. As a manager, Cabell wore a baseball shirt but not the full uniform.

"We were joking that he probably went to sleep in the uniform," King said with a smile.

This season, Cabell has received significant playing time as a designated runner and reserve outfielder. A designated batter usually replaces Cabell at the plate; his only hit was a single in a preseason game. He stole home in a victory against Orlando University.

"Next year, I'm hoping I'm in that starting lineup every day," Cabell said. "For now, as long as I'm on that field and getting an opportunity to come out here and help the team, then that's all I can ask for."

LAKELAND — Hagerty suffered a painful state championship game loss on Saturday night when Wellington sophomore Trent Frazier made a last-second free throw after drawing a foul with a drive at the buzzer.